His job has been intertwined with current events.
As director of security and emergency preparedness for the Jacksonville Port Authority, Charles “Chuck” White has a part in making sure the ports stay safe and secure.
He recently monitored the movement of Irene, the first hurricane of the 2011 season, as it roared through the Caribbean and headed toward the East Coast in August.
“We do a lot of watching, looking for things out of the ordinary,” said White, from the Security Operations Center.
White and his staff not only monitor cameras over the port authority’s docks and storage facilities throughout the city, but they also keep an eye on weather reports and storm paths.
“We are looking at the world from what we call an ‘all hazards spectrum,’” said White, who has held the director’s post for eight years.
“I’m trying to think about every potential thing that can impact the ability of the Port Authority to carry out its mission, so we are tracking weather,” he said, such as “a thunderstorm developing in the afternoon that may produce 60-mile-an-hour wind.”
Identifying and tracking hazards is only part of the job. White acknowledges the special work environment, one with open lines of communication between the many partners that maintain the safety and security of the port.
“If you think about a maritime environment, you’ve got some huge agencies involved in here, like U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Their jurisdiction sometimes crosses over areas that we have, so we have to find ways to work together for the common good of the seaport,” said White.
He applied for the job after serving in the U.S. Navy’s military police. He retired as a senior chief.
Port security also works with the U.S. Coast Guard, FBI, Joint Terrorism Task Force, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
“It takes all of those partners to look at everything from cargo to international crew members to freight coming in or going out. It requires us to have a good working relationship with those partners,” said White.
The operations center not only works with these agencies for safety, but also security. The security plan for the port is addressed through the Maritime Transportation Security Act, which was signed into law in November 2002 as a response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The U.S. Coast Guard is charged with enforcing the code of federal regulations.
“Each one of our facilities is federally regulated and has an approved security plan by the U.S. Coast Guard captain of the port,” said White. “Our job, day in and day out, is to implement those plans for each one of our terminal facilities,” he said.
He acknowledges the national importance of the ports.
“One important sector of critical infrastructure in the United States is our seaports. The importance to the U.S. economy with the ‘just-in-time’ delivery of goods is very critical. Having our ports, our maritime system, impacted would have a tremendous negative effect on the U.S. economy,” said White.
The Port Security Grant Program was created by Congress to assist public agencies and private industries evaluate their vulnerabilities and obtain security technology to improve their facility security programs.
The port used the program to build its security operations center.
“It is a key for us in developing our ability to mitigate threats,” he said.
The center also serves as a rallying point for multiagency work in the event of severe weather.
356-2466